The holidays are upon us and I’ve hosted Christmas dinner with my family every year since I’ve had my own place! One of the big requests this year is my sweet potato pecan bake, and I figured I’d share the recipe with you so that more people can enjoy it.

I’ve tweaked this recipe over the years to make it healthier and healthier with each variation, and all of my family members can attest to the fact that when I “create” in the kitchen, it’s pretty difficult for me to replicate a dish exactly the same the next time around because I never actually use measurements. I blame this on my maternal grandpa who was just as “creative” in the kitchen!

Give this a try if you need a bit of inspiration for a carb-based dish for the holidays. It’s also great for a potluck dinner as well! It’ll be a hit, I promise.

The Recipe

Ingredients

8-12 sweet potatoes

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup pecans

¼ to ½ cup raisins

maple syrup crystals to taste

Directions

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes

Put the sweet potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil.

Once the sweet potatoes are softened and drain out the water

Add the vanilla extract and mash the sweet potatoes with a fork or potato masher

Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes into a casserole dish

Smash ⅓ cup of the pecans and put aside the other ⅔ cup.

Add the smashed pecans and the raisins into the mashed sweet potatoes

Once the mashed sweet potatoes, smashed pecans and raisins are evenly mixed, level the top with a spoon or spatula.

Arrange the remaining pecans on the top of the dish as nicely or haphazardly as you’d like.

Sprinkle some maple syrup crystals on the top to taste. I use maybe 1 tbsp at most.

And enjoy!

If you’d like to sit down with me to discuss how I can help you attain your health goals, CONTACT ME HERE to set up a complimentary 15 min discovery call/meeting and we can get started.

What’s a discovery call/meeting? It’s where we get to know each other better to ensure that I’m the right practitioner for you and that you have the opportunity to ask your questions about Naturopathic Medicine before we move forward with an initial Naturopathic consultation.

Here are a few more posts on healthy recipes that you might also be interested in: